Thank you for joining us to say a HUGE thank you not just to teachers, but school leaders, teaching assistants, and all support staff in UK schools and colleges for their amazing work, not only in these challenging times but all year round.
We celebrate teachers across the country every year on National Thank A Teacher Day. Usually, we also use this day to announce and celebrate the Silver Winners of Pearson National Teaching Awards, but this year we are waiting for schools to reopen to all children before we officially announce the winners.
In the meantime, through the Teaching Awards Trust’s Thank a Teacher Campaign we are asking everyone across the country to join together to say a HUGE thank you to their teachers.
Send your thank you!
This Thank a Teacher Day, send a special edition e-card designed exclusively by the award-winning illustrator Axel Scheffler.
Anyone can send a card, to any member of staff working in UK schools and colleges; school leaders, teachers, teaching assistants, and all support staff such as lunchtime supervisors, caretakers and cleaners. You can even send your card to the whole school.
Encourage your students to get involved!
We would LOVE to feature their message of thanks to help launch and promote the campaign – we will use this on our website, social media channels, and maybe even on the TV if we get pick up! We have included some suggestions below. Please ask them to send us their messages or clips. You could also send us your own message to a colleague.
Do you have a STAR teacher? Do you miss seeing them every day? This Thank A Teacher Day let’s take the opportunity to say thank you to all our amazing teachers and support staff, who are doing a star job each and every day.
Share your message of thanks with the Thank a Teacher campaign before the 20th May, ideally in a video clip, or in an expression of your choosing. Our theme this year is a star. How creative can you be? Maybe you and your school will feature as our #StarOfTheDay on social media
The aim is to get as many messages of thanks and some great stories about the teachers who are being thanked so we can share them with the whole country on National Thank a Teacher Day on May 20th.
Our theme this year is a star, below are some examples of what your students could do.
- Record a music video! If you love singing then please share your version of a special thank you song, or if you’re feeling shy you can just mime! You could do a ‘star-themed’ song – or just choose one that suits your teacher best!
- Are you a budding Tik Tok Star? We would LOVE to see your Tik Tok videos dedicated to a special teacher. Can you make everyone laugh or impress with your moves? (*children aged 13+ only)
- Feeling creative? How about a drawing of your teacher?
- Are you missing your drama classes? Are you a budding actor? How about a short clip of you doing an impression of your teacher?
- Been practising your footy skills? How about impressing your teachers? Record a clip of your mad sports skills.
These are just ideas. If you have your own creative way of thanking your teacher we would love to receive that too.
Don’t forget:
- Make videos short and snappy, ideally 30 seconds
- Intro your video with who you are thanking and why
- Tell us your school and teacher’s name
Either tag us on social media Twitter @UKThankATeacher, Facebook ThankATeacherUK, or Instagram @thankateacherUK. Don’t forget to use the hashtags #HowWillYouSayThankYou #ThankATeacher
You can also send your teacher a free e-card; children, students, parents, grandparents and colleagues can all say thank you to a teacher, teaching assistant, headteacher or team.
Student Resources
Download and colour in a Thank A Teacher Day poster.
Download a blank Thank A Teacher Day star to write a thank you or a poem
Partner Resources
Download our Toolkit
Michael Morpurgo, celebrated author and former Children’s Laureate, and President of the Teaching Awards Trust, said: “So often and for so many of us, it is a teacher who changed our lives, was at our side through hard and difficult times, who lifted us up when we were down, helped us find our voice, gave us confidence when we needed it most, set us on a path that we have followed ever since. At my school I had a French teacher, who might not have made a linguist of me, but was always kind to me. He loved his subject and passed that on. I still love French, the language, the people, the literature, but even he could not persuade me to learn my French grammar.”
The Thank A Teacher campaign is sponsored by:
Department for Education, Century and Education Scotland
National Thank A Teacher Day is supported by:
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) | The Chartered College of Teaching | Headteachers RoundTable | Outwood Grange Academies Trust | Education Development Trust | Ormiston Academy Trust | Birmingham Education Partnership | The Teaching Schools Council | Teach First | Leadership Matters | Parent Kind | National Schools Commissioner and Regional Schools Commissioners | SSAT UK | Schools North East | Regional Schools Commissioner – North West London and South-Central England | The Princes Teaching Institute | United Learning Trust | National Education Union | National Association of Head Teachers | Ofsted | NASUWT | Ambition Institute | Education Support Partnership | Confederation of School Trusts Education | Schools Week | Reach 2 Trust | Challenge Partners | Herts for Learning | National Governors Association | Lincolnshire Learning Partnership | The Association of Directors of Children’s Services | Harris Federation
